GRAND RAPIDS, MI — If you’re trying to get a sense for the philosophical underpinnings at Osteria Rossa, just look at the top left corner of the menu, where it reads “warmth of the Mitten, soul of the Boot.”

In a nutshell, that’s the name of the game at Osteria, a casual Italian restaurant that starts its first dinner service on Wednesday, June 4 at 4 p.m. at 16 Monroe Center NE on the ground floor of the newly-renovated Kendall Building downtown.

“It’s not spaghetti and meatballs,” said Perkey, former owner of Firehouse Grill in East Grand Rapids, who has previously worked at Kent Country Club, Bistro Bella Vita and the Sierra Room.

Bonham, a Grand Rapids-area native, has culinary and management experience with restaurants in Chicago and New York.

“If you were to transplant an Italian family into Michigan and they were to open a little restaurant, this is what they would cook,” Perkey said.

The menu features a mix of wood-fired pizzas, hand-cranked pastas and other small plates, sides and main dishes that adhere to the fresh local ingredients, farm-to-fork ethos. Nothing is priced over $20, although various specials may price higher.

The wine list will feature Italian and Michigan wines.

Inside, the 90-seat eatery features a 12-seat bar area with a couple TVs facing a display kitchen on one side, with a quieter dining room on the other. Park-facing doors will open during nice weather for diners to enjoy a meal outside.

“We’ve turned this into a neighborhood place,” Perkey said. “We feel like downtown has become its own neighborhood, now.”

“It’s not just a destination.”

The name “Osteria Rossa” loosely translates into “red tavern,” a reflection of the management team’s desire to be laid back and welcoming.

“In Italy, an Osteria is for everyone,” said Scott Noorman, the restaurant wine director who relocated from Chicago to work with Perkey again. “We want to bring that mentality of fine service into a comfortable, affordable space.”

Osteria Rossa will be open for lunch and dinner service starting at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, closing at 10 p.m. during the week and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant will be closed Sunday.

The restaurant will take a limited amount of reservations per time slot each day, Perkey said, in order to accommodate diners downtown for an event.

The 3,200-square-foot establishment employs about 25 people, and Noorman said the staff is being trained to deliver stellar service.

“There’s a difference between service and servitude,” he said. “We want to bring that hospitality back…. service is really our biggest pillar, I think, in what we do here.”